Gandhi's Convertible Terms

A well known saying of Gandhi's is, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." Often this is shortened to, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

The shorter version makes the relationship between you and your effect on the world sound provisional. You have a choice. You can be the change (that is, you can be the way you would like the world to become), or you can not be. Perhaps you lack the motivation or rigor be that change right now. The world, in that case, will drift on its way . . .

Elsewhere in his writings, Gandhi links actions and ends more explicitly—and he doesn't let us off the hook. Gandhi says that means and ends are convertible terms. (In logic, convertible terms are terms that can be swapped.)

Your means are your ends; your ends are your means. Since you are always engaged in some kind of means (since you are always taking action, even if that action appears to be inaction), you are always shaping ends, and the nature of the former directly determines the nature of the latter, regardless of excuses, manifestos, talking points, or tweets.

In other words: Be the change you wish to see in the world? You are the change, right here, right now, whether you like it or not.

So how are you being right now? Because that's the way you are shaping the world.

Application for Business

No moment is a wasted moment. No interaction with a prospect or customer is unimportant. You are always shaping the company you hope to create some day.

Most people realize now that a company's brand isn't its logo or its Web site copy; it's the sum of its customer experiences. That recognition applies here, as well.


Photo of Gandhi statue at the S.F. Ferry Building by Yves Remedios. Creative Commons License, some rights reserved.